Sorry Spurs steal a point with goalless draw in Monaco

In the city where many a high-rolling gambler has been cleaned out at the casino tables, Tottenham somehow managed to come away from Monte Carlo with a point rather than empty-handed, having been outplayed by a Monaco side that simply could not find the net.

Thomas Frank’s side left the field to a smattering of boos from those Tottenham supporters who had made the trip to the south of France, so lacklustre were they in attack. A point from a hard-fought draw was hardly the heist of the century, but Monaco were right to feel robbed after 28 attempts on goal without scoring.

The man who broke their hearts, if not the bank at Monte Carlo, was Guglielmo Vicario, who put on an astonishing display to keep out Monaco. The Italian keeper made over half-a-dozen excellent saves, three of them of the highest order, as he threw a protective blanket around his goal. Rarely has a point been less deserved by a side in the Champions League, but Vicario more than earned his clean sheet.

Monaco must take some of the blame for not scoring, though, with some wasteful finishing.
Folarin Balogun, the former Arsenal forward, was guilty of missing three gilt-edged chances in the the opening 35 minutes, with Vicario foiling him each time. His first was a shot on the turn, the second a close range scramble and the third a powerful low drive, all saved expertly by Vicario, who also had to scramble backwards to tip away a dipping lob from wide on the left by Maghnes Akliouche, Monaco’s outstanding player. The young French forward also ran clear of Pedro Porro but wasted a chance to break the deadlock, as his team-mates struggled to convert chances into goals.

Spurs had only a handful of half-chances. Micky Van de Ven put a header over the bar from a cross by Wilson Odobert, who then set up Richarlison for a shot that was blocked. Porro shot over from long range, before Kevin Danso, standing in for Cristian Romero again, had one header from a corner saved and put another over the bar from close range before half-time.

Vicario’s heroics continued after the break, as he appeared to put up a one-man barrier between Monaco and his goal. The Italian saved well when Akliouche shot on the turn early in the second half, and and then flung himself across goal to keep out a curling shot from Monaco substitute Aleksandr Golovin. But his best save came in the 75th minute, when defender Jordan Teze powered in a header from six yards and Vicario managed to beat the ball away at point-blank range.

Takumi Minamino, the former Liverpool midfielder, then went on as substitute and missed three decent chances in the space of five minutes as the Tottenham goal led a charmed life.

Tottenham almost snatched a smash-and-grab win in the final minute, with a rapid counter-attack that ended with Brennan Johnson’s shot hitting defender Christian Mawissa on the backside, which just about summed up sorry Spurs.

After a home tie against FC Copenhagen, their next Champions League fixture is at Paris St Germain, and unless they make a dramatic improvement, Tottenham can expect a drubbing from the European Champions – unless Vicario stages another virtuoso performance.